


gay people??? on the hill???

by panic_tm



Category: On The Hill (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Multi, i will make more as time goes on, i’m so sorry this is so bad i hate it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27703166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panic_tm/pseuds/panic_tm
Summary: yeah i don’t write my own stories a lot but the on the hill fandom is severely lacking in fanfics so i decided to take the liberty of making my own.they’re total ass, but hey, i try i guess.
Relationships: Brew/Lifehack
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

word count: 2142

today was the usual for our pal brew. wake up from one hour nap, get coffee, write script, make sure his boys don't set the kitchen on fire, y'know, the usual!  
that was until he got a facetime call from a certain homeless person.  
how he got said phone? no one knew.

"charles? what do you need?"

the man of a thousand voice-cracks spoke on the opposite end of the line.  
"well it's not really a need, more want. do you have any band aids? all of mine are kind of unusable at the moment—"

brew was confused, yet intrigued.  
"what do you need band aids for? did you get hurt?"

lifehack turned his front facing camera down to his right calf, showing the nasty aftermath of some sort of raccoon attack.  
"they were /extra/ territorial this morning! appar—"

"get here, now."  
brew would interrupt the blonde, worry for him bubbling up. that is definitely going to get infected if he didn't wrap it up. plus the blood will, and is, getting everywhere.  
with that, brew hung up, himself already walking over to his bathroom to grab supplies to fix the man up.

lifehack sat there confused for a good moment, until he realized. he /did/ have band aids he can borrow! hah! what a great friend brew was! 

so on his way he went. brew's house was a bit far from his current post, but with a few shortcuts and tumbles here and there, he make it in around 10 minutes.  
the man knocked on the door. one time he just barged in without knocking and the loud one almost set him on fire.

the doorknob turned, it peeking open just a tad, though soon enough it opened fully.  
lifehack looked up at the much taller man. heck, he was one inch away from being a full foot taller than him! it still intimidates him.

"oh thank goodness you're finally here."

brew would let out a sigh of relief, before suddenly shoving the shorter into his house and closing the door.  
"straight to the bathroom, take a shower, shave, use shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, but don't get any of your injury. don't use the strawberry shampoo, grill will get mad."

the blonde simply stood there in confusion.  
"wh- what about the bandaids—"

"forget about the band aids, take a shower."  
his tone wasn't angry, or demanding, honestly brew could never pull that off. one couldn't tell what emotion he was feelings, besides the fact that it's not his usual one.

after a moment's hesitation, he made up his mind. who wouldn't take the opportunity of a free shower?!  
"w- well uh— if you insist!!"  
he walked over to the bathroom, closing and looking the door behind him. he took a moment to look around. medical supplies were loosely scattered around the sink. he couldn't understand why. was it for him? but the injury wasn't too bad, according to his standards atleast. he wouldn't have even called brew if his bandaids had any stick left to them. he really has to stock up.  
he popped off his hat, setting it down on the toilet seat. he looked at his hair and the many mats in it. he should really brush it before he washed it. he grabbed the hairbrush lying on the sink as he tried to brush it out. after murmuring a few "ow,,"s, he gave up.

"brew, buddy! could you help me here?"

he called out, making sure to unlock the door.

in a moment, the man had approached. he opened the door, peeking through at first, but soon walking in. he had to make sure the coast was clear.

"i can't get a brush through my hair, would you mind helping a guy out?"

"well i could certainly try."

brew wasn't the best person to ask when it comes to hair, hell he barely takes care of it himself, but he knew his good buddy brew would help him! he didn't want to ask the yellow blonde, who knows what he's doing, or the loud one. 

"you aren't going to get it through all dry like that. here, bean tought me how to do this."  
brew grabbed the brush from lifehack's hand, wetting the bristles under the water from the faucet. he stood behind the shorter, working his way through a few knots. it hurt a bit, but it was better than just cutting it.  
lifehack would just stare at the mirror in front of him. well, less of the mirror, and more at brew in the mirror. the close proximity and physical contact made him way more nervous than he should have been, and a tad more blushy. he's gone over this in his head too many times now. is he /really/ in love with brew? or is it just the fact he's the only person who's been nice to him in months? he hoped for the latter, but he still couldn't decide. all he knew is that he very much enjoyed the rough comfort brew could give. most of it is unintentional, he's too dense or something to understand that a lot of people aren't used to such close proximity. though lifehack doesn't care, he'll take any affection he can get.

"here, it's more loose now. take the brush with you in the shower, run it through your hair when you're washing it. don't come out of that shower until that hair is smooth."  
brew would tell the other as he handed him the brush back.  
he's already done? huh,, he must have gotten lost in thought.

"th- thank you!!"  
he made sure to give him a thanks before he walked back out, locking the door behind him.

lifehack would do as brew told him, and he'd be lying to you if he didn't say it was the most relaxed he's felt in forever. sure, the water hitting on his injury hurt, but this is the first shower he's had in over a year! it's incredible.  
he couldn't remember the last time he shaved either! he's like a new man. 

he took a pair of boxers, shorts, and t-shirt brew had provided. they didn't all look to be his though. from what he could guess it's one of grill's spare white shirts and one of chill's green shorts. but eh, it's something new, who cares.  
after he was done changing, he heard a knock at the door. he would hold his death in slight fear until he heard a voice.

"are you done?"  
brew's voiced called out from outside of the door.

"y- yeah! you can come in!"

brew entered the bathroom with less hesitation this time, and without his overcoat.

"alright, we have to get this wound here fixed up. it'll get infected if we don't."  
he folded he sleeves up as he grabbed the hat from the toilet seat, carefully setting in down on the floor. he gestured lifehack to sit down where the hat formerly was.

"infected? nah man, i've gotten /way/ worse attacks than this."  
lifehack would defend, taking a seat.

"that can't be good."  
the brunette pulled up a small stool, grabbing the other's foot and propping it on. he put on a pair of rubber gloves before grabbing some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls.  
"i'm not a fan of looking at stuff like this, nor am i too experienced. but i've done enough research on things relating to this so i believe it will work in your favor."

the blonde stared down (for once) at him, him sitting on his knees as he prepared whatever he was doing. lifehack really had zero idea.  
"you really don't have to do this, i'm f- INE—"  
he sort of yelped as he felt the cotton ball with rubbing alcohol touch his open cuts. it burned. he would lift his leg up away from brew's touch.

"ah my bad, forgot to warn you."  
there was a tone of sincerity, a rarity for anyone who isn't his boys. 

"i- i said i'm fine! i don't need you hurting me any more!!"  
the man became the slightest bit fearful. physical pain is something he can handle, but when it comes to people providing the pain, he gets much more defensive.

"no, you're not. scratches and bites from animals are way more serious than you think, charles. if i don't do this you could get a disease. you never know what those pests are carrying. it'll only hurt for a bit, i swear."  
the pale man gave small smile, as he had learned it can give reassurance.  
and it did.  
with a bit of hesitation, lifehack would slowly lift his leg down. he put his hands in his lap as his foot tapped anxiously. he would flinch as brew would continue his little cleaning routine. he was extremely thankful for the care! but he didn't understand why. he said he could take care of it himself, so why is brew doing this for him? maybe he cares about his health? hah! nah, that can't be it! i mean brew helps people all the time, right? it's what he believes he does, he doesn't know a lot about him. maybe he just didn't want a human disease going around, that can't be good. his thoughts would be broken as he felt a needle stab into him. he couldn't move his leg though, he had a good grip on him.  
"wh- what the hell!!"

"it's p.e.p., it's so you don't get rabies. you can never be too sure."  
brew spoke as he took the now empty needle out, tossing it over into the sink. he would grab some sort of cream, applying it over his injury.

"it didn't look like it had rabies! all the raccoons seem to hate me so they always attack me, i have no clue why!"  
his eyes stayed glued on what the other was doing, having no real idea what was going on. the brunette didn't seem to want to talk as he was doing so, staying concentrated. maybe he wouldn't mind teaching him a thing or two, it's certainly a lot of work but it must be worth it, right?

"i have to bandage this up. don't take it off for at least a week, it will give it time to scab over. keep the bandage and your leg safe, if anything happens come straight to my house. and /please/, don't go near the raccoons."  
he snagged the bandage wrap next to him, starting to wrap up his injury. it's not professional by any means, but it's something. 

"you really didn't have to do this, i'm sure i would have been fine if i took care of this myself."  
the blonde dismissed, giving a small chuckle as well.

"but you don't know for sure. now come on, stand up."  
brew would stand up, moving lifehack's leg off of the stool. he put an arm around his waist to help him not fall over. though, things don't always work out as you plan them too.  
lifehack would trip over a misplaced comb on the floor, immediately grabbing on to the thing closest to him, brew. instinctively, the taller grabbed onto his waist, holding him so he wouldn't fall over. they were entangled in some sort of strange hug. after regaining his balance, lifehack didn't let go.  
he liked this.  
he just stood there, grabbed on to the other, his face heating up but you really couldn't tell.  
and brew didn't let go either.  
he's not really a touchy feel person, but he just couldn't bring himself to let go. safe to say he liked it to.  
they would stay like that for atleast a few minutes before the shorter let go, giving some sort of nervous laugh as he did.

"th- thank you buddy! i really appreciate all the help you've given me!"  
he spoke faster than usual, a sign of embarrassment. 

"it's no issue, really."  
brew would dismiss as he went to grab the other's old clothes. when was the last time this man wore something different?  
"i'll wash these for you. i'll grab you a hoodie too, i don't want you freezing. you can keep those clothes too."  
he would leave the room as he said this, leaving lifehack to just think.

. . .  
this was too nice. this can't be real! there's no way anyone could be this nice to him! this must be some sort of joke, right??  
but what if it isn't?  
brew doesn't /seem/ like the kind of person to lie. i mean he's seen his videos, and he seems like a sincere person.  
so, he can't be lying. no he's too nice for that.  
gah! he still doesn't know.

but either way, he's happy he took care of him. he missed this, he really did.


	2. BRYDEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> word count: 3,764

tw / cw // verbal abuse & physical abuse mention

this is officially the worst day of brayden’s life.

this was supposed to be the perfect opportunity to impress his father! a business trip to a ski lodge was the perfect place to do a performance with his madlads. his father was fine with him joining alone, a little more hesitant with his little friends though. but after some convincing the arrangements were made.   
everything was going great!! while his father was doing some private business stuff the boys had convinced brayden to ski with them. it was surprisingly fun, he had forgotten all his stresses soon enough into the fun. although after brett had a small wipe out the boys stopped. he wasn’t injured or anything, just kind of got all the wind knocked out of him, and he needed to relax.   
the their way back to where they had run into brayden’s father. and he didn’t seem too pleased with the news of brett’s little wipeout.

it was . . painful, just standing there and listening, coming from the other three. his father wasn’t even talking to them yet they still felt targeted.   
the boys hadn’t seen much of brayden’s father, nor knew much about it, but they were always a bit scared of him. he was 6’5, slightly muscular, the kind of guy who looks like he could break anyone in half like a twig. he never smiled either. though they were getting more comfortable with him during their trip. he seemed more chill naturally. but that’s changed now.  
they had been standing there for what seemed like 10 minutes as brayden’s father yelled at him. the most notiable comments were, “you’re so lucky he’s not hurt more”, “/i/ would of had to pay for the hospital bills if he was hurt more”, “you’re always so fucking stupid”, “you’re just like you’re brother, and he’s in prison”, “you make nothing but mistakes”, “i should of given up that damn custody battle”, “you should of never been born”, “don’t talk to me for the rest of this trip”, and so on. there were so many harsh words, and brayden didn’t even respond once, his father just kept on going, and going, until he finally stopped with that last phrase.   
the three boys would exchange glances before looking at brayden. his hands were balled into fists, his posture as perfect as ever, his face was tilted at the ground, they couldn’t see his face. bryce was about to pipe up before brayden suddenly said something.

“l- let’s go to the cabin.”

hearing that was almost as painful as listening to the older man yell. you could just tell he was holding back tears. his words were spoken quietly and weakly, such a harsh difference from the usual proud and loud tone the man spoke with.

without a word, the boys agreed with his words as they would walk to the cabin. brayden took the lead, as per usual. no one talked as they walked, but bryce and brad would occasionally make eye contact, both of their gazes holding the same worry. brad had held brett by his waist, holding him next to him so he didn’t fall. he was a little hazy, but he still understood the situation. he just didn’t want to look at everyone.  
once they arrived at the cabin, brad would speak up before brayden could open the door.

“i- i’ll grab an ice pack from the freezer and then take brett up to the nurse at the main lodge. do either of you want to come with?”  
he tried his best to keep a cool and steady tone, though his voice was still a little shaky from the pure fear brayden’s father has put in him.  
there was a moment of silence before bryce took the liberty of answering for his friend.

“we’re good! thank you for offering. make sure brett gets the proper care he deserves, i want to see my man in the best mood he can be when he gets back!”  
bryce threw on the usual happy and motivating mood, he couldn’t stand seeing his boys so down. he wasn’t the most codependent madlad, but he was still a madlad nonetheless.

“of course! i won’t bring him back until he’s perfect!”  
brad would push past brayden, who hasn’t even moved since they’ve started talking. he opened the door as he quickly grabbed an ice pack from the freezer before coming back to the front door.

“i’ll be back soon! call me if you need anything!”  
and with that, brad went off with brett at his side, they would be warm enough.

bryce took a few steps inside, taking off his hat and jacket, hanging them on the rack. brayden would soon follow in suit, though he kept his head pointed at the ground, refusing to return bryce’s occasional glances. and bryce hated it.

you’d never hear him say it directly, but the madlads knew about bryce’s obvious crush in brayden, besides brayden of course. bryce has picked up brayden’s mannerisms and vocal quirks, he’s always extra enthusiastic when brayden, he made a whole sheet with brayden’s face on it for the background of his zoom meetings, and the boys couldn’t remember how many times he’s seen him blush when he gets complimented by him.   
it was almost sad seeing how oblivious brayden was.

“i’m gonna go grab some ice cream from the freezer, you wanna share?”  
bryce had to figure out some sort of way to make brayden cheer up, and he just so happened to know that one of his favorite things is ice cream. specifically mint chocolate chip, and it just so happened to be the ice cream he had. that’s sure to make him happy!!

“ . . sure.”

. . .

that’s it?

well, at least it’s something.  
the boy would walk over to the freezer reaching up to grab the desired food, while also grabbing two spoons from the drawer. he carried them back over to his friend that was now just sitting on the hardwood floor to the cabin, back against the coffee table. bryce took a seat next to him, not too close, but not too far away either. he tilted his head down to try and get a look at brayden’s face.

. . ouch.

his gaze held strong at the ground, refusing to look up. he kept his eyes slightly squinted but he didn’t blink. his balled up hands stayed firm on the hardwood, them shaking ever-so-slightly. there was a slight slouch in his figure, extremely uncommon for him. the most notable among these features were the tears welling up in his eyes. one would be able to tell he was desperately trying to hold them in. 

bryce didn’t know what to say.

he just sat there, looking at him. that was until he suddenly made eye contact. it seemed to scare the both of them. brayden instantly turned away, his head looking in the complete opposite direction. bryce took a breath before speaking up.

“are you alri—“

“does it look like i’m alright?!”  
brayden would snap, his head whipping back to stare at bryce. a tear would fall down his cheek. he would scoff head turning in front of him. 

“i was just worried you haven’t said anything in a while.”  
bryce held his hands together in front of his chest, nervously looking at his friend, then to the floor, then back at his friend. god this is awkward.

“and i’d th-th- think you’d know why, asshole!!”  
brayden stammered, his usual rudeness going up ten fold. he doesn’t know what to say. he can’t deny anything because they were all right there, and he’s just sitting there crying in front of him. so he does the only thing he knows how to do, be mean. it’s not to say he enjoys it, but it usually boosts his ever-so-deteriorating confidence. being a position of power or superiority, even if it’s small like this, makes him happy. just, not right now.

“alright alright, i’m sorry.”  
bryce’s tone was much more quiet than before, feeling a bit turned-off at the sharp rudeness. he could tell he wasn’t acting rationally, but that didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt. although he could forgive him for it, he always has.

a minute of silence accompanied by heterochromia soft sobs filled the room. the other couldn’t stay sitting there anymore. it absolutely shattered his heart seeing him like that. yes he’s seen him upset, but he usually just gets angry, not this sad angry mix. he hated it, he fucking hated it.

the boy would stand up to walk to the cabin’s bedroom before feeling a hand grab his wrist. it was brayden. he didn’t even look in his direction, but with his tight he held on he could tell he wanted him to stay, so he did. he sat back down, the other’s grip not letting go, nor loosening. it was just another minute of silence and sobs.

bryce kept his gaze away from brayden, until he couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s eyes on his. he hesitantly looked over at him, and the moment they made eye contact brayden launched forward. he pulled bryce into a tight hug, his face next to the crook of his neck, his tears staining the fabric of his blue shirt. the boy just sat there, unmoving. partially because of shock, partially because of said predicament. he knows it’s bad to think about stuff like this in situations like this, but the thoughts just wouldn’t leave him alone. his biggest ever crush is hugging him right now. he loves this, but also hates this.

brayden repeatedly muffled apologizes to the boy he held, still having trouble processing his emotions. he felt bad, he knew he felt bad, but weak “i’m sorry”s were all he could muster. his ego was too fragile, he couldn’t bare acting even more like a degenerate. father will hate if he’s weak, and he has to impress him!!

finally, bryce got some courage and spoke.  
“i- . . it’s okay. you don’t have to be sorry.”  
he wasn’t very good at reassurance and such, but he wanted to try his best for his man. he returned the hug holding onto him tight. this was . . so weird. he couldn’t quite process it. seeing him so upset and defeated, it was so different. he never imagined brayden could be sad, if he ever was he never showed it. and that just worries him even more. how long has he been like this? by the way he just stood there and took it with a mostly unmoving expression it couldn’t have been the first time. what else has that man said to him, what has he /done/ to him. these thoughts were starting to piss him off. there has to be something he could do to maybe help him.   
but he can’t get mad now, he needs to be comforting. right?

brayden’s sobs had lessened over the minutes, himself trying to chill out. this was too embarrassing. he’s sitting there, holding onto someone he’s deemed as someone weaker, someone of less worth than him. now that he’s thinking about it, he’s really put his friends through hell.   
friends.  
do they still consider himself as friends?  
he’s been so rude to them, so cruel. every-time any of them would get a boost of confidence he would always shut them down and claim superiority. he calls himself “the best of the best”. but he’s not. he’s not at all and he knows it. he’s a selfish, unstable, narcissistic, hypocritical, cruel, asshole. he’s done nothing but cause his friends harm. why do they still hang out with him? is it pity? is it to make fun of him in secret? do they feel like they can’t leave or he’ll do something bad.

“brayden? you better now?”

hearing bryce’s voice made the boy jump, and knock him out of his thoughts. fuck. he had gotten lost in his train of thought that he forgot he was being held by the shorter boy.

“ . . . a l- little . . “

bryce gave a sigh of relief. thank goodness. despite the momentary joy from the boy’s words, he still felt angry. he /had/ to figure out what that sorry excuse of a father did to him. but he knew he wouldn’t want to talk about it. perhaps he’d be more willing after he calmed down more.

“brayden, you better start eating this ice cream before it all melts.”

he threw a smile on his face as he saw the other’s head poke up.   
he’d completely forgotten about that!  
he wiped his face before letting go of the shorter blonde, taking a seat next to him once again. his face had a strong stain of red, his eyes puffy from the tears. he had an expression of slight anger and disgust, a common one for him. it calmed bryce just a tad. he seemed calmer now, even if it wasn’t by a lot.

bryce handed the boy the container, snatching it from his grasp. he took the spoon and began eating, immediately finding comfort in the food. it’s not a habit he wanted to get into, but brayden found that eating certain foods made him calm down, and mint chocolate chip ice cream was one of them.

“careful, you’ll get a brain freeze if you eat so fast—“

“shut up.”

the boy would quickly retort, his mouth full. though as he was eating, he did in fact get a brain freeze. he muttered some curses under his breath, setting the container down before covering his head with his arms, the uncomfortable pain setting in. bryce would give a small giggle at this. i mean, he did warn him!

“see!! i told you!”

the yellow eyes boy would joke. he gave a few more laughs before the wind blew over, brayden now taking a moment to relax.   
he didn’t want to think, but he just couldn’t help it.  
he wasn’t a good friend. he knew that fully. he always preaches kind words and positivity but any time one of his friends makes a small mistake he says horrible things to them. it’s disgusting really.  
brayden looked over at bryce, a more sad expression replacing the former disgusted look. bryce instantly spoke.

“h- hey uhm—,, if you want, could i ask you a few questions. about your dad.”

“what?”

brayden was. . . shocked by the question to say the least. he’s been asked questions about his father for as long as he could remember, but after such an event like this it doesn’t feel right to speak of him.

“like i said, you don't have to, if you don't want to, i won't force you. i’m just . . curious.”

bryce shifted in his seat, his worried eyes landing on the other blonde and refusing to move. was it too soon to ask? ah shit. he probably made him uncomfortable. he made him feel better but now he’s ruined. now he’ll hate him and he’ll never want to speak to him again. he’ll kick him out of the group. he’ll--

“a- ask away. . . “

huh?

“are you sure?”

“yes.”

oh. oh thank god. he doesn’t hate him. that’s good, very good.

“w- well uhm . . does he usually get that angry?”  
it felt like the most appropriate question to ask first. he couldn’t ask /those/ one’s first, even though just imaging if a certain answer was yes burnt him up inside.

brayden took his time trying to figure out an answer. “that angry”, hah. what a silly question.  
“yes. that’s only father’s medium level, if you can call it that.”  
his hands shifted around nervously, his stare moving over to the shorter blonde. he was worried of the reaction his answer would give, but he didn’t know why.

medium?  
medium?!  
that was fucking MEDIUM?!  
upon hearing such an answer he couldn’t help but get angry. how could he not?! he didn’t know how his dad saying he wished he was never born wouldn’t be considered high.  
“brayden, what’s the high level?”  
there was no attempt to hide the pure rage in his voice. sure, brayden can be a total asshole sometimes, but he doesn’t deserve this. 

the tone in bryce’s voice put some very much unwanted fear into the boy, it made his response almost instant.  
“he hits me sometimes.”

. . .

“he fucking what?”

“h- he’s hit me, do you not believe me? s- see?”

to bryce’s utter dismay, brayden would lift his shirt up to show a green-ish blue bruise along the right side of his ribcage. it was about the size of his own hand.

“what the fuck, brayden.”  
he wasn’t mad at brayden, far from it. he was mad brayden hadn’t told him earlier. they’ve known each other since high school. this isn’t something that just happened out of the blue, it was common. it enraged him. he stood up, thinking on impulse. he was ready to beat that man to nothing. he knew he wouldn’t win in this hypothetical fight, he knows he’s not strong enough to take down that man. he would sit back down as fast as he stood up. he stood his head, sighing as he look over at the practically petrified man next to him.

brayden normally wouldn’t react like this. sure, he’d probably flinch or something, but he was just . . frozen right now. he fully believed bryce was mad at /him/. bryce is mad because he’s weak. he’s all worked up over some yelling and a hit. it’s so pathetic. he’s supposed to be strong, not some weak little pansy who sobs because his dad yelled at him. but not look at him, frozen in fear because his friend was mad. fucking weak.

bryce saw the blonde’s fear in an instant. oh god, oh no. he didn’t mean to scare him, he really didn’t. he panicked for a moment before grabbing onto the boy’s wrists with his hand, him flinching away rather hardly to the touch. he didn’t try to escape from the contact, but he knew he was terrified. his eyes were closed shut as he started to shake.

“brayden i’m not going to hurt you-”

“i’msorryi’msorryiwon’tmakethismistakeagain-”

“b- brayden please calm down, i’m sorry i- if i scared you i really am.”

brayden didn’t say anything, or at least attempt to make anything he said sound clear. the most he could make out of it was more sorries among the mess of stammers. it absolutely broke his heart seeing him like this. he wanted to help him calm down but he didn’t know how, so he changed his plans just a tad. he let go of his wrists and gave him a bear hug. he could feel him flinch and shake, but he still didn’t move away.  
“i don’t want to hurt you, i just want you to calm down. please, i’m so sorry for scaring you. you don’t have to forgive me.”  
he just held him like that. he could hear the boy start to cry, but he still held on. it was silent besides that and their breathing. they stayed like this for what was around ten minutes.

“c-c- can you l- let go?”

“of course.”

bryce let go of brayden, his eyes stayed locked on him. he watched him as he wiped off of face, taking a few breaths. this was such a stressful day, why couldn’t it just have been a whole good day, just like it was earlier.

“brayden.”  
bryce spoke, scaring the other just a tad.

“y- yes?”

he breath was taken before he spoke again.  
“i-i- . . . i’m not going to let you stay in contact with that man. you’re going to break all contacts and forget about him.”  
it wasn’t a suggestion, it was a demand.

“wh- what do you mean? i- i can’t just forget about father and leave-”

“yes, you can, and you will. you’re an adult now brayden, you don’t live with your parents anymore. you don’t need them. not for attention, not for money, not for anything. i’ll help you from now on.”

brayden just blinked at him, in a state of disbelief. it’s not that he didn’t like the idea, well maybe a bit, but he was also terrified of the outcome. he was the only son of his father, he’s still waiting for him to become a successful hier. his family is very well known and liked, what would he do with him if he broke ties?  
“wh- what if you’re lying?! what if you don’t care about me? what if when i do you’ll j- just abandon me. or- or you’ll rat me out for money?!”

his concerns were valid, and bryce understood that. but, he figured out a way for him to believe him.  
“i- if i didn’t care about you would i have stuck around all these years? brayde, you mean the absolute world to me. i don’t know if i’d still be alive if i never met you. seeing you smile is such a treat, and i want you to smile even more. you don’t need to live up to your stupid father’s standards! you have me, and brad and brett. we all care about you so much and it’s heartbreaking to see you so worked up and upset because of the stuff he does. please believe me when i say i care about you, i care about you so much. i- if you still don’t believe me, maybe this will help.”  
it was such a stupid idea, but he already spoke, he couldn’t back down now.  
he scooted himself arm to arm with brayden, cupping a cheek of his in his head before going in to give him a kiss. he could hear him gasp as he did. but . . he didn’t back away. he felt the blonde’s face heat up in his hand, and he knew his face probably looked the exact same. bryce pulled away after a few moments, a smile on his face.  
“i- . . i love you brayden. . . i’m sorry for kissing you without asking too.”

brayden was frozen. not in fear, but in surprise. did that really just happen? it’s not to say he didn’t enjoy it, far from it. it was just so . . new. was he in love with bryce? he wouldn’t put it against himself if he did. he wasn’t sure if it was really love or just the joy he felt from his words, but he was willing to pursue /something/.

“i-”

“brayden, bryce, we’re back!!”

fuck.


End file.
